Sometimes it seems that our efforts to have a perfect Christmas season are like a game of Jenga—you know, the one played with small wooden blocks that are precariously stacked up to a tower. As we try to increase the height of the tower, we pull out one wooden block before we can place it on top of the delicate structure.

Each of those little wooden blocks is a symbol of the perfect Christmas events we so desperately want to have. We have in our minds a picture of how everything should be—the perfect tree, the perfect lights, the perfect gifts, and the perfect family events. We might even want to re-create some magical moment we remember from Christmases past, and nothing short of perfection will do.

Sooner or later, something unpleasant occurs—the wooden blocks tumble, the drapes catch fire, the turkey burns, the sweater is the wrong size, the toys are missing batteries, the children quarrel, the pressure rises—and the picture-perfect Christmas we had imagined, the magic we had intended to create, shatters around us. As a result, the Christmas season is often a time of stress, anxiety, frustration, and perhaps even disappointment.

But then, if we are only willing to open our hearts and minds to the spirit of Christmas, we will recognize wonderful things happening around us that will direct or redirect our attention to the sublime. It is usually something small—we read a verse of scripture; we hear a sacred carol and really listen, perhaps for the first time, to its words; or we witness a sincere expression of love. In one way or another, the Spirit touches our hearts, and we see that Christmas, in its essence, is much more sturdy and enduring than the many minor things of life we too often use to adorn it.

~~~END OF EXCERPT~~~

]]>By: timpaulmillshttp://blogs.reuters.com/edward-hadas/2011/12/20/the-spirit-of-christmas-presents/comment-page-1/#comment-295
Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:43:41 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/edward-hadas/?p=122#comment-295Should “Christmas” now be called “Giftmas”? Christ is no more part of a developing secular “X-mas” than the Pope is the head of an atheist group. Do not left the ultra-liberals and the conservative right spin “Christmas”. Call it what it is.
]]>By: Nullcorphttp://blogs.reuters.com/edward-hadas/2011/12/20/the-spirit-of-christmas-presents/comment-page-1/#comment-294
Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:12:32 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/edward-hadas/?p=122#comment-294“The noble and the base are inextricably mixed” – and so it goes during the other 364 days of the year as well.

I like the anecdote of the family who gives each other $100. It’s a mental game, right? Nobody is any richer or poorer in the end, but they get to feel the “joy” of giving and receiving.

I don’t buy gifts for any holiday. I might cook someone a nice meal or make them something by hand. For birthdays, I ask the would-be recipient to buy himself/herself something they want for their birthday. So when my birthday comes around they aren’t obligated to get me anything either.